SISTERS SUPERIOR
The queens of wholesome cooking reveal their live-well secrets
The Hemsleys on their healthy lifestyle
Our fitness
jasmine: When I was modelling full-time, my attitude to exercise would be: if I am not exhausted or sweating, then what’s the point? But now that I’m so busy, a gentle Hatha yoga class – where I sit in a room and breathe my way through the poses – is just what I need. My one rule is to make sure that I’m in bed by 10pm. That way I’ll wake up refreshed and wanting to get going. melissa: I need constant stimulation when I’m working out, so the mix of short treadmill runs and weights circuits at Barry’s Bootcamp is ideal. I never feel more body confident than after sweating profusely to a soundtrack of 90s garage in one of trainer Faisal’s morning classes, which I make twice a week. My Staffordshire bull terrier, Nelly, is great for forcing me out of the house for a walk in the park when I feel sluggish, too.
Our food
jasmine: You have to love what you eat. For me, a healthy lunch is chunky soup or juicy Moroccan tagine rather than kale salad. Even if Ottolenghi came over and sprinkled on the pomegranate seeds personally, a mound of kale could never leave me satisfied. So sometimes I’ll eschew the virtuous options – if I was travelling and could eat a bag of piping hot chip shop chips or a limp service station salad with soggy tomato, I’d go for the chips every time. melissa: We were brought up thinking about nutrition, with Mum always telling us to eat avocado for our brains. If my boyfriend Henry is cooking a stir-fry for dinner, I’ll leave vegetables that need using up on the kitchen side – we joke that I’m the ‘creative director’ and he’s the kitchen hand. If I fancy a pizza, I won’t deny myself – but it has to be from a restaurant that does the perfect crispy base.
Our faces
jasmine: Every morning I have a cold shower, which wakes up my skin. I change my skincare regimen regularly because I want to try all the great new natural products out there, but I’ll always love Alexandra Soveral’s Formula 1 face cream. I’m 36 and I definitely have wrinkles around my eyes, but the knowledge that I’m putting quality, all-natural products on my skin helps me feel more comfortable about ageing. melissa: I don’t wear make-up most days, but I love having fun with it when I’m getting ready for an event. I’m aware that I have a formula, with the bold lip and the liquid liner, but I’m sticking with it. I’ve tried mixing things up with a smoky eye and it always looks terrible. At the end of the night, I enjoy taking it off almost as much: the whole process is a signal to myself that I am chilling out.
Our focus
jasmine: My days start with a 6am Vedic meditation session, which is a really simple practice I learned on my 30th birthday. I can do it anywhere, and after 20 minutes I always feel wonderfully calm. I’ll aim for another session later, but I try not to obsess over it. Rigid goals might help some people, but
I try to see what happens, reflect on changes, and think, ‘What do I want now?’ melissa: I’m 30, and the older I get, the more able I am to motivate myself to do the little things that make me feel better. Chopping my way through the ingredients for a big batch of stew reassures me that no matter how busy the month ahead, I’ll have a freezer full of good food to come home to. I meditate daily, and am working on leaving my phone out of the bedroom, too. I’m quite a boring person.